Record fans expected in Poland

Rally Poland organisers are expecting a bumper crowd at this week’s event and estimates are that spectator numbers will surpass all records.

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Rally Poland has been absent from the WRC calendar since 2009 but the prospect of watching Polish hero Robert Kubica battle against the best rally drivers in the world in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC is expected to be a big draw for spectators. The rally gets underway on Thursday night.

“It’s hard to quantify because the event is not held in a stadium but a conservative estimate is that there will be between 100,000 and 150,000 spectators on the stages in Poland and Lithuania,” a rally spokesman told WRC.com.

“Last year when we had the rally in bad weather the Police told us there was around 60,000 people. This year is going to be very busy because there is big, big local excitement. The Masurian region doesn’t have an event like this and lots of people will be coming for the rally.”

Robert Kubica is expected to draw big crowds to this week's Rally Poland

Kubica meanwhile, has spoken for the first time about the prospect of driving in front of his home fans on an FIA World Rally Championship round.

“Competing in my homeland will be something special and I’m really looking forward to seeing all the Polish fans," the F1 race winner said. "This will be one of the country’s sporting highlights and I think there are many rally fans in Poland.”

To mark the special occasion, Kubica’s M-Sport-prepared Fiesta will sport a new livery in Poland (see above).

“As this is my home event, I thought it would be nice to show the Polish national colours on my Fiesta RS WRC,” the 29-year-old said. “Together with our partners, we have come up with a one-off design for this special event.”